Amazon Echo Show: Alexa-powered touchscreen speaker launches June 28

Update: Amazon has officially announced the Echo Show, a new version of its Echo speaker that features a seven-inch touchscreen and voice assistant Alexa. It's available for pre-order in the US for $230 and ships on June 28. Unfortunately, while the existing Echo range is available in the UK and Germany, Amazon currently has "nothing to share outside the US" in terms of availability.

Amazon is pitching the Echo Show as a central home hub through which users can watch video flash briefings, browse YouTube, control smart home devices, and create visual to-do and shopping lists with the aid of Alexa. Users will also be able to make video and voice calls to friends that have an Echo or the Alexa app on a smartphone via a 5MP camera.

The Echo Show is compatible with the usual array of Alexa skills that allow users to control smart home devices like Philips Hue bulbs or Nest thermostats, but will also be compatible with smart cameras from Ring and Arlo. Users can ask Alexa to display a live feed from a particular room in the house, with the images popping up directly on the Echo Show's screen.

Like Amazon's existing Echo speakers, the Echo Show features eight microphones and far-field beam-forming technology for voice recognition, which sit on the top of the oddly kiosk-like device. Audio quality, a weak point of the Echo, has been given an upgrade courtesy of a pair of Dolby-powered two-inch speakers.

The Echo Show is powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor, and features support for 802.11a/b/g/n 2.4GHz and 5GHz wi-fi, as well as an as yet unspecified version of Bluetooth. No OS is specified either, but it's likely to be some form of Amazon's Android-based Fire OS, which is used across its range of Fire tablets.

Like with the other Echo devices, Amazon is offering a discount if you buy more than one. Just enter the code "Show2Pack" to get a $100 off a pair.

Original Story

Amazon will reportedly launch a new version of its Echo speaker that features a seven-inch touchscreen and the ability to make Internet-based telephone calls.

The new device, dubbed the Amazon Echo Show, will be powered by Amazon's AI assistant Alexa, and—in addition to making phone calls and video calls—will also allow display shopping results from voice services.

While Amazon is yet to officially unveil the Echo Show, a report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that it could launch later on Tuesday. Anonymous sources have indicated to the WSJ that the Echo Show is expected to cost more than $200/£200. The current Echo is priced at $150/£150, with the smaller Echo Dot—which ditches the large speaker for a 3.5mm audio jack—costs $50/£50.

Purported images of the Echo Show have also appeared online courtesy of serial-leaker Evleaks. They show a slanted, workman-like box that contains a large touchscreen with a speaker grille underneath. If the images prove accurate, the Echo Show's mundane design would be an odd choice for a device that's intended to be left on display and frequently accessed.

Should the Echo Show be released imminently, it will be the second Echo device unveiled by Amazon this year. In April, the online retail giant took the wraps off the Echo Look, a "hands-free camera and style assistant" that takes full-length photos and provides fashion advice to customers. Currently, the $200/£200 Echo Look is available on an invite-only basis to Amazon customers in the US.

Amazon has faced increasingly stiff competition in the digital assistant market, with Microsoft working on physical homes for Cortana, and Google having already launched Google Home in late 2016. Apple is also rumoured to be working on its own speaker-like device for Siri. However, Amazon has benefited from being first to market, with Alexa being widely supported across a range of smart home devices, as well as services like Uber. Alexa dominated this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Further Reading

In addition to the new Echo, the WSJ reported that Amazon will roll out a range of telephone services for Echo devices in the next few weeks. These will apparently allow customers to use Echo devices like an intercom system, with external voice calls and video calls expected to arrive at a later date.

Making a call isn't labor intensive (though i can see it may help disabled people)plus the fact these digital assistants can intrude on privacy or even be used as digital spies so why should i buy these stuff?

They are concentrating so much on these kind of applications when maybe they should be making it easier for me to clean my house, cook my food etc and i dont mean recipes etc. I would like it if they can sell me small bots that can mop my muddy floor or a bot that can clean my table, get the items from the ref and slice vegetables for me. Roomba got it right but they stopped at vacuum bots. There are lots of more useful items they can make but because maybe someone else in their house is doing it for them, they just dont realizethat in other houses, they might be able to make a killing selling labor saving devices. without the spyware please.

...they just dont realizethat in other houses, they might be able to make a killing selling labor saving devices. without the spyware please.

It's not necessarily spyware when they fully disclose the information they're gathering (everything it hears) and who they're sharing it with (parent corporation, Amazon.com, Inc., and the subsidiaries it controls, and we may share personally identifying information with third parties) and what kind of data it gathers (usage data, audio data).

You can delete all voice recordings associated with your account for each of your Alexa-enabled products, by selecting the applicable product at the Manage Your Content and Devices page at www.amazon.com/mycd or, for the Amazon App for iPhone, by going to Your Account from the Menu icon at the top of any page in the Amazon App and selecting Manage Voice Recordings. You can also contact customer service to request deletion of your voice recordings.

So a little bit of info I gleaned from their privacy pages... yeah, I don't own one and probably won't. Sure is a neat idea but the tradeoffs in privacy just aren't in my favor.

This would have been great for the kitchen. Screen is big enough to display recipes from a I'm-not-going-to-leave-my-phone-inside-a-loaf-of-bread distance. Ring compatibility makes it easy to see who's at the door. Can still do all the Echo stuff.

Trouble is the pricing. I'd have jumped on it at <$200. I'd have considered it at $200. I've got to think about it at >$200. And the special $100 off two is right off the table unless I can talk someone into splitting the pair with me.

I just ordered a pair and will send one to my parents, who are retired. I was an early adopter with the Echo and the frequent updates show that Amazon is committed to the platform.

They did take one of my suggestions by changing the weather app to adjust the high or low if the current temperature was out of the range. It sounded dumb that the low was 35 and the current temp was 32. Now it tells you that the low is 32 instead, not something you would notice, unless you had the previous experience.

Feels like we're getting mixed messages going from "Alexa is the assistant you interact with using only audio" to "hey, we strapped a screen onto Alexa." I also worry about the fragmentation that'll happen with devs being asked to make "skills" that either only work on the Show or don't use it to its full capacity.

Amazon is making Apple and Google look under prepared when it comes to home automation. Home automation IS the next big thing, and Amazon is doing a great job supporting it. I just can't get myself to buy into their walled garden though ... their lack of Prime support for the Chromecast/Android rubs me raw =(

I can see this new device being a great for kitchens and bedsides. Also for video calls with Grandparents. It might not be a device for everyone, but either way, it is great seeing Amazon so aggressive with voice enabled home automation. Google, Microsoft and Apple have been half ass promising this for a decade now with small results. Amazon seems to be the only one putting a big budget behind it.

Now, we will see how well Amazon has thought out the security side of this. They are going to be a big target since they are the selling so many of these connected devices.

As an owner of 2 Echos and 2 Dots as well as 2 FireTVs that use Alexa, I can safely say I will not be buying this ugly conglomeration of an Echo and Fire Tablet.

I purchased several Yoga Tab 2 (8") from Lenovo, reworked the USB interface to allow connection from the back for always powered, installed Alexa, SmartThings and Harmony and while a little disjointed it gets the job done better than this solution...and it looks much better.

Amazon is making Apple and Google look under prepared when it comes to home automation. Home automation IS the next big thing, and Amazon is doing a great job supporting it. I just can't get myself to buy into their walled garden though ... their lack of Prime support for the Chromecast/Android rubs me raw =(

I can see this new device being a great for kitchens and bedsides. Also for video calls with Grandparents. It might not be a device for everyone, but either way, it is great seeing Amazon so aggressive with voice enabled home automation. Google, Microsoft and Apple have been half ass promising this for a decade now with small results. Amazon seems to be the only one putting a big budget behind it.

Now, we will see how well Amazon has thought out the security side of this. They are going to be a big target since they are the selling so many of these connected devices.

I am not sure they are making Google look under prepared. Remember Google has Nest and the Google Home is a very good product which now has proper multi-user control which Echo still does not have.

Apple and Microsoft are certainly playing catch-up though.

One thing is certain, this is a very interesting area for future development.

One of the great breakthroughs of Amazon's Echo (for me, at least) is not its physical design, but rather its unobtrusiveness.

Instead of talking to this cylinder or this hockey puck, I am talking to my house. I don't even notice the Echo anymore on its perch. There is nothing that requires me to look at it. To tell you the truth, it gives me a giddy little thrill to not look at it as it turns my lights on and off and adjusts my thermostat - I'm living my Star Trek fantasy like the fat - too-lazy-to-hit-the-lightswitch nerd that I am.

Amazon is making Apple and Google look under prepared when it comes to home automation. Home automation IS the next big thing, and Amazon is doing a great job supporting it. I just can't get myself to buy into their walled garden though ... their lack of Prime support for the Chromecast/Android rubs me raw =(

I can see this new device being a great for kitchens and bedsides. Also for video calls with Grandparents. It might not be a device for everyone, but either way, it is great seeing Amazon so aggressive with voice enabled home automation. Google, Microsoft and Apple have been half ass promising this for a decade now with small results. Amazon seems to be the only one putting a big budget behind it.

Now, we will see how well Amazon has thought out the security side of this. They are going to be a big target since they are the selling so many of these connected devices.

I am not sure they are making Google look under prepared. Remember Google has Nest and the Google Home is a very good product which now has proper multi-user control which Echo still does not have.

Apple and Microsoft are certainly playing catch-up though.

One thing is certain, this is a very interesting area for future development.

Where Amazon is getting a foothold is that they are making cheap devices like the Dot to get into many more households and they are integrating into a huge number of 3rd party products. It's turning into a pretty nice ecosystem. I personally have a Dot that is tied into my Harmony Hub to control my home entertainment center, plus it also controls a few cheap TP-Link Wi-FI bulbs around the house that I bought for way less than a Hue starter kit.

Am I the only one thinking this does the same thing the Look does? I mean, its basically a kindle fire 7" hooked to an Echo. Its got a front-facing camera too. Way to go, Amazon, you've killed a product you just introduced a month ago.

The telephony/intercom features being added to the original Echo is the part that I'm most excited about. My wife has an art studio a couple blocks away and always forgets to take her phone with her, but she has an Echo there. Hope this will allow me to "call" her Echo even if it is on a different network.

Looks not too bad, but the power port makes it look like a plug with a brick in the middle. Gross. Non starter if that's what they went with (as opposed to integrated power supply or USB mini plug)

Can confirm no brick.

Disclosure: I work on the Alexa team

You might want to talk to your product marketing folks, then, because your product shots clearly show a brick:

Edit: well, thinking about it further, I guess it depends on what you call a "brick". I would consider the boxy thing attached to the plug a brick, but one might also consider an intermediary box between the device and the plug a brick.

Edit 2: FWIW, I pre-ordered one, just to give it a try. Whether or not I keep that pre-order depends largely on what (if anything) Apple announces at WWDC next month.

The telephony/intercom features being added to the original Echo is the part that I'm most excited about. My wife has an art studio a couple blocks away and always forgets to take her phone with her, but she has an Echo there. Hope this will allow me to "call" her Echo even if it is on a different network.

Yes it does, You can also call Mobile App and vice versa.In fact, calls to your home will ring both devices (if you set them up to do so)

Looks not too bad, but the power port makes it look like a plug with a brick in the middle. Gross. Non starter if that's what they went with (as opposed to integrated power supply or USB mini plug)

Can confirm no brick.

Disclosure: I work on the Alexa team

You might want to talk to your product marketing folks, then, because your product shots clearly show a brick:

Edit: well, thinking about it further, I guess it depends on what you call a "brick". I would consider the boxy thing attached to the plug a brick, but one might also consider an intermediary box between the device and the plug a brick.

Edit 2: FWIW, I pre-ordered one, just to give it a try. Whether or not I keep that pre-order depends largely on what (if anything) Apple announces at WWDC next month.

that looks like the standard amazon usb power block they ship with most of their hardware. Maybe that's what he meant by "not a brick".

The telephony/intercom features being added to the original Echo is the part that I'm most excited about. My wife has an art studio a couple blocks away and always forgets to take her phone with her, but she has an Echo there. Hope this will allow me to "call" her Echo even if it is on a different network.

Amazon is making Apple and Google look under prepared when it comes to home automation. Home automation IS the next big thing, and Amazon is doing a great job supporting it. I just can't get myself to buy into their walled garden though ... their lack of Prime support for the Chromecast/Android rubs me raw =(

I can see this new device being a great for kitchens and bedsides. Also for video calls with Grandparents. It might not be a device for everyone, but either way, it is great seeing Amazon so aggressive with voice enabled home automation. Google, Microsoft and Apple have been half ass promising this for a decade now with small results. Amazon seems to be the only one putting a big budget behind it.

Now, we will see how well Amazon has thought out the security side of this. They are going to be a big target since they are the selling so many of these connected devices.

I am not sure they are making Google look under prepared. Remember Google has Nest and the Google Home is a very good product which now has proper multi-user control which Echo still does not have.

Apple and Microsoft are certainly playing catch-up though.

One thing is certain, this is a very interesting area for future development.

Am I the only one thinking this does the same thing the Look does? I mean, its basically a kindle fire 7" hooked to an Echo. Its got a front-facing camera too. Way to go, Amazon, you've killed a product you just introduced a month ago.

The Look's main unique feature is that it has a depth camera, so it can do background removal to give you nicer-looking selfies, and can do other fashion-focused computer vision stuff. It has voice control for hands-free usage, and full Alexa support because why not if you've already got the microphones. You'd probably put it in your bedroom to use it while trying on different clothes. (Well, not you specifically, we're probably not the target market.)

The Show just has a regular camera, but it has a touchscreen and better speakers. You can use it as a replacement for the original Echo, with the screen as a bonus. You'd probably put it in a kitchen or living room.

There are a lot of similarities between various Echo products, but they're each designed to optimise specific use cases so they can do a better job than a single generic device. You're still free to buy a tablet and glue it to your wall, and maybe it'll work okay, but it'll always have design compromises that make it not quite as good as a more focused device.